First lets take a look at what these three types of honey are:​​​Organic HoneyOrganic Honey is honey produced without the use of pesticides or chemicals, either in the beehive, or on the plants that the bees collect nectar from.

Pesticides on the plants have been shown to be retained in the honey, and multiple tests have shown that these same pesticides cause severe deleterious effects on the person consuming them, even in minuscule quantities. In fact, allergies have been linked to eating food sprayed with pesticide. So, eating honey that has been gathered from plants that have been sprayed with weed killer or other chemicals, can be harmful rather than helpful.

If only we could put hives here.

In the United States, the USDA will NOT certify any honey as organic (as of 2019), if it is produced in the states, as there are no regulated places for beehives, in which surrounding plants have not been sprayed with pesticide. Bees can travel up to 5 miles, (though usually no more than 2) in any direction from the hive to gather pollen. That is a large area! No regulated, pesticide free place in the U.S. exists, that is also conducive to bee-keeping. (The beautifully vast mountainous areas are just too difficult to get your hives on!) This means that all honey marked "Organic" on the store shelves or online is not from the USA.

Raw HoneyRaw Honey is any honey that has not been heated past a certain temperature; 115 degrees Fahrenheit being the upper limit of what is usually still considered raw. It is the enzymes in the Raw Honey that are said to give most of the health benefits. These enzymes begin denaturing, aka dying, in the upper 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and have nearly all been denatured by 120 degrees. ​

Local HoneyLocal Honey is the honey that the bees produce from the nectar in the plants where you live. For true local honey, a backyard bee-hive is the best, and only way to get all your local pollen. There is research that says eating honey with local pollen helps alleviate allergies to that same pollen. Honey that is "unfiltered" denotes that the local pollen are still in the honey. This pollen is the health benefit of Local Honey. ​

So, which honey is the best?Should you get, organic, raw, or local?

Well, the best honey that you could possibly get on the planet, would be combining all three: Raw, Local, Organic Honey! Nevertheless, this is really unfeasible for most people, so the best thing you can do is to get as close to this as possible.

Dont'sDon't eat local, or raw honey that has pesticides infused in it. It is not healthful. (Most of the honey you'll find on store shelves unfortunately falls into this category.)

Don't eat organic honey that has been heated and filtered. It has none of the good enzymes or pollen left in it, and you're left with only the sugars.